This disclosure relates generally to techniques to display a group of media items in an optimal media arrangement. More particularly, the disclosure relates to techniques to efficiently identify a set of frames (and corresponding media items) within a visible display area of a displayed media arrangement.
With the rapid increase in the number of devices capable of capturing digital media and the number of repositories for such media, there exists a need for an interface that is capable of aggregating, sorting, and displaying all of the media to which a user has access in a visually pleasing manner. Unlike traditional media item displays which generally include display frames having a common size and repetitive spacing, a visually pleasing display of media items may include a more natural and random arrangement of media items in display frames having varying sizes and positioning. Due to the randomness in size and positioning of the display frames that contain media items in a visually pleasing arrangement, the identification of the display frames that appear within a viewable area may require a more complex operation than that required for traditional, ordered displays. In addition, because many of the devices capable of capturing and displaying media items in a more visually pleasing arrangement have relatively limited memory and processing capabilities (e.g., mobile devices such as phones, tablet computer systems, and personal digital assistants or PDAs), it would be desirable to optimize the operations to identify display frames that appear within a viewable area in order to improve a user's experience in viewing the media items.